Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Tea is something that I have become increasingly passionate about of late. For most of my life I only drank peppermint tea but there's a whole world of different blends to try out there. Over the past few months I've become a fully-fledged tea addict. I can't start my day without some matcha or lady grey & I can't go to bed without a cup of rooibos. Some of my favourite tea brands include Twinings, teapigs & Bluebird Tea Co. They've all created some amazing flavour combinations & I think it's incredible that I can drink tea that tastes exactly like birthday cake or mint choc chip ice cream! As well as being a delicious beverage, tea can also have many health benefits. Teatoxes continue to rise in popularity but you don't have to drink something that will wreak havoc on your bowels in order to improve your wellbeing. Teami Blends recently got in touch & asked if I would like to try out one of their loose leaf teas. They currently offer six unique blends of health-based tea which all have certain effects on the body. These include Teami Alive, Teami Relax, Teami Skinny, Teami Colon Cleanse & Teami Profit. As I could always do with a bit more energy I decided to go for their Teami Energy blend.

The Teami Energy* tea is made from a glorious blend of Oolong, Yerba Mate, Ginseng, Lemon Grass, Peppermint Leaf, Goji Berry & Rhodiola Rosea. The ingredients are all natural & rich in antioxidants. They also contain Vitamin A, B complex, C, D, E, Potassium & Magnesium. As the name suggests, this tea was developed to help you feel more energised & awake. I love drinking it first thing in the morning & just before that afternoon slump. It really helps me to focus on my work & get things done. I've found that it helps to push me a little bit further when I go to the gym too. If you're a coffee addict you might want to check this out as it will give you a natural boost throughout the day without keeping you up all night. Herbals teas aren't addictive like caffeine so you won't become dependant on it. Some of the other health benefits include boosting your immune system, improving mental alertness, aiding digestion, suppressing cravings, increasing concentration, enhancing productivity & raising cardiovascular endurance.

Tea can do so many things to enhance our wellbeing. Even the ritual of making tea is a relaxing process & can be an important part of self-care. But for tea to be truly enjoyable it has to taste good too. Teami Energy has a very strong herbal taste. One of the reasons I chose it was because I love the flavour of oolong & yerba mate. It very much reminds me of the tea you get in Chinese restaurants. The peppermint leaves give it a nice refreshing lift. I think it tastes delicious by itself but if herbal teas aren't your thing you can sweeten it up by adding a bit of honey or lemon.

When I first heard of Teami Blends it wasn't actually because of their teas. A few weeks before they contacted me I had spotted their Teami Tea Tumbler on Facebook & immediately snapped one up. I've recently gotten into brewing loose leaf tea & I've been trying out a few different tea making accessories. I did have two loose leaf teapots but they both smashed so I ended up just placing the infuser baskets from them directly into my cup. I'd say that this is the easiest way to brew tea but I hated cleaning all the tiny leaves out of the mesh baskets as they would always get stuck in them. This bottle seemed like the perfect solution & I'm completely obsessed with it!

The 400ml leakproof tea tumbler allows you to brew your tea & drink it whilst you're on-the-go. You simply remove the lid & mesh insert, place a teaspoon of leaves into the cup & fill it up with boiled water. Then you just pop the mesh insert & lid back on before allowing your tea to steep for a few minutes. It features double layered walls which keeps hot drinks hot without burning your fingers & cold drinks cold without any condensation. It's made from BPA-free plastic so it's completely safe to drink from & there's no danger of me smashing it like my ill-fated teapots! The mesh insert works extremely well & prevents any particles from getting in your mouth. It's also super easy to clean which encourages me to use it even when I'm at home.

The only real downside to it is that you can't remove the tea leaves once you've brewed the tea. Most teas will recommend that you steep them in boiled water for about 4 minutes before removing the leaves. I like to drink pretty strong tea so when I use teabags I often leave them in the cup. But for certain types of tea, green tea in particular, the flavour can become impaired if you steep it for too long. I really dislike the dry, bitter aftertaste you sometimes get from green tea so I always make sure I remove the teabag or leaves promptly. Teami Energy still tastes fantastic but I'd just be careful if you want to brew other teas in this cup with a shorter steeping time.

Teami Blends' loose leaf teas are priced at £19.99 for a 65g pack but they have kindly given all of you a discount code! You can get 10% off by entering SPARKLY at the checkout. They also offer free delivery on all UK orders. Even if you don't particularly like the sound of the teas they have available I would highly recommend getting one of their tea tumblers. It will revolutionise the way you make loose leaf tea forever!

2 comments:

I'm a bit of a typical British person when I say I love tea, but the truth is I only really like the good old English Breakfast tea and haven't really given myself the chance to try any other. I had green tea when I was in China but aside from that... I'm not a fan.

However this does look pretty cool! I really like the bottle you used too, and when I read the first paragraph I was wondering how you would separate the loose tea from the water... Well there you have it!

I am tempted to try it but I think I'll have to go for a super cheap supermarket-branded tea first, just in case I end up not liking it. I will keep this review for reference though if I do start getting into them! :D Thanks for the review! <3

About Me

Greetings & salutations. I'm Caroline, I'm 29 and originally from SE London. I currently live in Huddersfield with my daughter Chloe. I am a freelance graphic designer specialising in typography and layout for publication design. You can read more about me here.